Cytotechnology

, Volume 65, Issue 2, pp 287–295 | Cite as

Saponin-rich fraction from Clematis chinensis Osbeck roots protects rabbit chondrocytes against nitric oxide-induced apoptosis via preventing mitochondria impairment and caspase-3 activation

  • Wenjun Wu
  • Xinghua Gao
  • Xianxiang Xu
  • Yubin Luo
  • Mei Liu
  • Yufeng Xia
  • Yue Dai
Original Research
First Online:
Received:
Accepted:

Abstract

Our previous study reported that the saponin-rich fraction from Clematis chinensis Osbeck roots (SFC) could effectively alleviate experimental osteoarthritis induced by monosodium iodoacetate in rats through protecting articular cartilage and inhibiting local inflammation. The present study was performed to investigate the preventive effects of SFC on articular chondrocyte, and explore the underlying mechanisms. Primary rabbit chondrocytes were cultured and exposed to sodium nitroprusside (SNP), a NO donor. After treatment with different concentrations of SFC (30, 100, 300, 1,000 μg/ml) for 24 h, nucleic morphology, apoptotic rate, mitochondrial function and caspase-3 activity of chondrocytes were examined. The results showed that SNP induced remarkable apoptosis of rabbit chondrocytes evidenced by Hoechst 33258 staining and flow cytometry analysis, and SFC prevented the apoptosis in a concentration-dependent manner. Further studies indicated that SFC could prevent the depolarization of mitochondrial membrane potential (∆ψm) in SNP-treated chondrocytes and suppress the activation of caspase-3. It can be concluded that the protection of SFC on articular chondrocytes is associated with the anti-apoptosis effects via inhibiting the mitochondrion impairment and caspase-3 activation.

Keywords

Clematis chinensis Osteoarthritis Chondrocyte Apoptosis Nitric oxide 
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Notes

Acknowledgments

This work was funded by the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions.

Conflict of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2012

Authors and Affiliations

  • Wenjun Wu
    • 1
  • Xinghua Gao
    • 1
  • Xianxiang Xu
    • 1
  • Yubin Luo
    • 1
  • Mei Liu
    • 1
  • Yufeng Xia
    • 2
  • Yue Dai
    • 1
  1. 1.State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, Department of Pharmacology of Chinese Materia MedicaChina Pharmaceutical UniversityNanjingChina
  2. 2.State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, Department of Chinese Materia Medica AnalysisChina Pharmaceutical UniversityNanjingChina

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